Less than 24 hours after being declared the next light-heavyweight contender, Lyoto Machida (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) has turned down a rematch with champ Jon Jones (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) at UFC 152.

Stepping in for Machida is Vitor Belfort (21-9 MMA, 10-5 UFC), who vacates a bout with Alan Belcher (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at UFC 153 to take the title fight.

UFC officials announced the fight overnight. Machida’s manager, Ed Soares, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) a statement regarding the situation will be released today.

Belcher has yet to receive a new opponent, though Chris Weidman, who offered to fight Jones at the recently canceled UFC 151 event, could be a leading candidate.

Upon announcing the cancellation of UFC 151, UFC President Dana White said that Machida would jump to the front of the line with the injury withdrawal of Dan Henderson. Machida originally was due to meet Jones in the headliner of UFC 152, which takes place Sept. 22 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto and airs live on pay-per-view and FX.

Instead, Belfort will bulk up to meet Jones, who himself turned down a fight in the past 24 hours when he nixed a short-notice matchup with Chael Sonnen at UFC 151.

Belfort hasn’t fought at light heavyweight since 2007, when he won the now-defunct Cage Rage championship following a stint in PRIDE Fighting Championships. His most notable accomplishment in the division was winning the UFC title at UFC 46 when he beat Randy Couture by first-round TKO via a cut. He lost the belt seven months later in a rematch with Couture.

Belfort has fought as a middleweight since 2008 and built a 5-1 record in the division, including a failed shot at Anderson Silva’s belt at UFC 126. He openly campaigned for a rematch with the dominant champ and was expected to place himself in position for one with a win over Belcher.